Budget: Mid-range, though it would be very easy to spend a lot on wine.

Venue and atmosphere: Stylish, minimalist interior, that still manages to retain a cosy, neighbourhood feel via warm lighting and a lived in feel that probably comes from the many empty wine bottles that line the shelves and windows.

Service: A little curt and not overly friendly, but my server may have been having a bad day. I got the sense that it is the kind of place where they get to know their regulars.

Food:

When Kate Galassi, former Director of Purchasing and Farm Partnerships at Natoora NYC, told me this is “Hands down one of my favorite places to eat” I knew I had to try it.

Venue and atmosphere: Deceptively casual. The long wooden bar and communal tables and benches have the feel of a traditional Japanese ramen-ya, but the food will soon remind you that this is a destination restaurant (if the queue hasn’t already).

Service: Efficient and knowledgeable, but a little rushed and brusque; a common theme in my experience of New York City hospitality.

Food: This is what you are here for and, despite more than 10 years of hype, it doesn’t fail to impress.

Next year I’m doing a road trip in the USA with the Meat & 2 Veg. It is fast becoming a tour of the South’s best BBQ joints. Believe it or not, it was his idea. If I could, I would base my entire travels on what I am eating and where, and often do when I travel alone, so I jumped at the chance when the M&2V suggested it.

We are still working out a route, but it looks like Texas, Tennessee and Kansas are top of the leader board. I have been using Johnny Fugitt’s book, The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America, as a guide. He visited 365 barbecue restaurants across 48 states in a year to come up with the list.

This recipe is a family favourite. When we go back to Australia for Christmas, this is always on the list of things that my sister and I ask my Dad to cook. Despite the fact that I have known how to make it for years, there is something special about Dad making it for us at this time of year, because it has always been on the menu on Christmas Day.

Beurre blanc is one of my favourite sauces – delicious, elegant and decadent. Traditionally, beurre blanc is an emulsion in which butter is carefully whisked into a white wine reduction at a low temperature so that it doesn’t split. However, to avoid the fuss of both getting the emulsion right and then having to keep it at the correct temperature, my Dad adds a little cream, which stabilises it. The consistency is a bit different from a traditional beurre blanc, but it tastes amazing and it’s much easier.

On holiday in Corsica I broke a new personal record, possibly even a world record, for:

a) Most money spent on a single bowl of pasta

b) Most stupid tourist ever

It all happened quite by accident.

The M&2V is a great holiday companion – he’s easy breezy, good at directions, up for pretty much any activity, likes a drink and, most importantly, knows that food is my thing and let’s me eat “wherever you want, honeybun”.